and occupy wall street heads uptown, targeting millionaires row on the upper east side. and in d.c., protesters take on the capitol. good day, i'm andrea mitchell live in washington. a busy day today. new polling in key battle grounds as republican candidates get ready to face off tonight in hanover, new hampshire. let's get right to the daily fix. chuck todd, host of the daily run-down down, and chris is managing editor from post politics.com. thanks to you both. chuck, you have the nbc polls in new hampshire and iowa, talking about a big shift where mitt romney is way out in front. herman cain is second, ron paul third, rick perry, a poor fourth, jon huntsman falling behind. and some warning signs for all of the candidates. what is your look at the internal? >> i think when you look and

realize the conservative part of the republican party, you can measure it a bunch of ways. in iowa, for instance, half the caucus goers we surveyed identified with the tea party. that was herman cain advantage there. he leads among tea party supporters in iowa. and he does better, he's closer to romney in new hampshire among tea party supporters. the new hampshire republican electorate, though, is more moderate, less conservative than the iowa electorate. that would be the big warning sign for mitt romney as he decides how seriously and how much resources does he devote to iowa. for instance, one number that jumped out at me, among first time caucus goers, those that haven't done it before, romney does pretty well. but it is as we know largely for active regular caucus goers who participate in this thing, and that's a more conservative republican electorate and that's a pitfall for romney.

the other thing i would go out there, when you look at the attributes, electability and experience, shares values position. 20 point advantage in both sides over electability and experience. >> romney's virtues are not a virtue in this election year, chris alyssa. if you look at the apology, it shows people want values voters. >> and if that poll is right, and that's a huge warning sign for him, the only way he wins this election is a model of the primaries where john kerry was the candidate people thought was more electable and howard dean was the heart candidate. mitt romney is the head candidate in the 2012 republican field. we don't really know if the heart candidate changed. it was michele bachmann, then rick perry, now herman cain.

maybe it will stay herman cain, go back to rick perry, we don't know. what we know, mitt romney is never going to be the heart candidate. if electability as polls suggest is not top of mind concern for republicans in iowa and new hampshire choosing the nominee, it is a hard hurdle for mitt romney to clear. he's not going to be the guy they love. he has to be the guy they like and like a lot more than president obama. >> chuck todd, what are the warning signs for the president here in head to head say with mitt romney? >> i tell you this, when you look at the new hampshire numbers, we have seen anecdotally, new hampshire, a state that voted for john kerry and barack obama, 2004 and 2008, a state democrats thought was turning the way the rest of new england for them, it is blue, the rest of new england is there, that's not the case. if mitt romney is the nomine nominee,inominee,

starting with a nine point lead. this isn't the lead when obama and romney are put together, this is doing well, and it is thanks to independents. he has a lead in iowa over romney, but it is -- this electability plays better with establishment. i had the new hampshire senator on this morning and she said electability is top of mind for her, does matter to her. among the establishment that matters more, and you see it in the polls. mitt romney doesn't just put new hampshire in play, he puts michigan in play. it redraws the map in a way other candidates running now cannot do. >> do you agree, chris, that the president has to be concerned about that? >> absolutely. the counter point, we have seen president obama's map is going to shrink. indiana is impossible. missouri a swing state, probably won't be. north carolina, there's a poll, and virginia.

if the democratic map shrinks and mitt romney expands the republican map where they can win, that's all for the positive if you're a republican. >> thanks for starting us off with the daily fix. eight contenders, one stage and a big opportunity to break out from the pack or avoid a campaign oblivion for some. to tee up the debate, we have dan ball, correspondent at "the washington post" joining us from dartmouth college. dan, the stakes couldn't be higher for one candidate tonight, and that's rick perry. >> that's exactly right, andrea. after three difficult debates, various people judged them to be mediocre to poor. he has a lot on the line tonight. his folks obviously know that. sent a lot of signals that they recognize what he did in the first three debates is not adequate. he has to step it up, be better prepared, more crisp in his

answers. i think everybody understands what he has to do coming in, and that's come out of here with people saying now, that's a better rick perry than we've seen before, or that's the rick perry people thought we were going to see when he first got in the race, but it is easier said than done. these debates have a dynamic as you know. the candidates at one part are asking each other questions. we haven't had that in a debate before. so there is a tremendous amount on the line for him. i think also for herman cain, it is a big moment. he has really come up in the polls. he has not gotten the kind of attention or scrutiny in the prior debates. i don't know whether anybody will take him on over some of his ideas or his background or his bio, but you have to think that people are going to be looking at him in a different way tonight than they've looked at him in the past. >> look at your own "the washington post" poll, "the washington post," bloomberg poll shows herman cain is coming in second among republicans in

terms of who would do best to improve the economy. that's clearly the appeal of his simple 999 plan. but is anybody going to take him on? is it in the interest of any of the other candidates to go up against herman cain one on one tonight? >> well, i think the most interesting question will be who would do that. and i think at this point it is less likely to be perry or romney and one of the candidates eclipsed by the rise of herman cain may want to come back and challenge him on some of his ideas. >> jon huntsman, perhaps? >> jon huntsman perhaps, but i think jon huntsman still has his focus on mitt romney as much or more than herman cain. but we'll see tonight. it will be telling depending on who poses what kind of question or in the exchanges that take place, who does exchange with whom, because that will tell you

who they feel is a real threat to them, getting to the point they need to be. that's what makes these debates so interesting. tonight's debate is all about the economy. the sole topic of the debate is economic issues. so this is an opportunity for all of them to layout in ways they have not been able to do or have chosen not to do what they think about the biggest issue in the country. >> it is clearly the biggest issue in the country. we expect they will be asked about the occupy wall street protests and a lot of other really dynamic issues, plus specifics as to how they would deal with the economy, but there are other issues out there. social values have certainly been terribly important to voters. we have seen what happened with the firestorm over religion, calling jeffress a moron yesterday. is there any way that will come

up? >> it is a bit of a stretch. this debate is about economic issues. obviously a candidate can say anything they want on the stage, and if a candidate chooses to raise it, we will see what happens. all the candidates agreed this debate us about economic issues. we had a series of debates open for any topic. there will be debates after this. the post and bloomberg decided this debate ought to focus on the economy and i think that's what it will be. >> one of the thing that's been so notable is an online ad that hasn't run as an advertisement, but the rick perry ad against romney on healthcare. want to play a little of that for you. that really was such a direct attack. >> now, i'm a conservative business man. >> time and again, the white house has pointed to the massachusetts law as the model for obama care. >> romney has flip flopped on some of the issues. >> we'll end up with a nation

taking a mandate. >> a lot of reasons to elect me. >> how vulnerable is mitt romney as he tries to defend or run away from his own healthcare plan? >> well, he's gotten the question i think in almost every debate on this topic, and i think it is fair to say he's going to get a question on this debate on probably every topic because it is a vulnerability and he knows that. he tried to finesse it, tried to walk a careful line, saying he is not taking back what he did in massachusetts, but not trying to turn it into a national program. that video that the perry campaign put together which as you say is a very tough video, i would be surprised if governor perry didn't put that out as a prelude to what he wants to talk about in the debate tonight. >> thanks so much. we have breaking news from the white house. we understand there's a big endorsement? >> there is. nbc news can confirm governor

chris christie is in new hampshire and today will endorse mitt romney at an event in a little less than two hours. it is as big a get as there is at this point in the republican campaign, and doing it on the day of debate, very familiar, very similar time to the way mitt romney timed that tim pawlenty endorsement when he announced that. chris christie not only endorsing romney but going to new hampshire to do it. andrea, you know, following republican politics, chris christie was the darling of a lot of the establishment parts of the republican party that were not yet sold on romney. so the question is can he rally those folks and the bigger question is does this give romney the credentials with the frustrated sort of conservative tea party types that wanted the blunt style, blunt speaking, that like that part of christie.

i'd logically, it makes sense if he went with someone else other than romney. >> he has the passion and following, the blunt speaking new jersey governor of course. that's your point. he does have more moderate views. his views really track with governor romney's initial views when he was the governor of massachusetts on a lot of social issues. >> that's right. chris christie is the type of republican that holds views in order to win in states that are as blue as new jersey. and that was always among the questions, for instance, when christie and those supporting christie were being challenged about the idea can he win in this republican electorate, in this republican primary. the poll we have out today in iowa and new hampshire shows half of iowa republicans call themselves tea party supporters.

more importantly, over 80% of the iowa republican electorate identify either as conservative, tea party supporter, or evangelical christian. and these were not the groups whose first choice are mitt romney. so the question is this is certainly a big way of moving financially, moving resources into the romney camp. we know there's a lot of money on the sidelines. having christie out there early, having him out there in new york city where there hasn't been a lot of success for romney or any republican in raising money, because they were sitting there waiting for the hope from new jersey to get in, and he didn't. >> and it brings some passion to the race as well for mitt romney who critics said has lacked that. thanks so much, chuck todd for the breaking news. chris christie in new hampshire, about to endorse mitt romney sometime this afternoon before the big debate. we will be right back. to volunteer. and now, thanks to you,

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the occupy wall street protesters that began in new york on september 17th have now spread to more than 20 cities across the country. more than 100 protesters were arrested in boston earlier this morning when police tried to move the downtown camp that served as their base for more than a week. in seattle, protesters were told to move from a city park within 24 hours. no arrests were made there last night. the same may not be true tonight. nbc's ron allen joins us now from new york where protesters have begun a millionaires march to the homes of some of manhattan's richest businessmen. ron, what is the strategy here and how are the police going to cope with it? >> reporter: it is an anti-millionaires march. we have some pictures of it on the upper east side of manhattan. they're in front of the home of

the ceo of newscorp, plan to move to the other side to other ceo's homes. they don't have a permit to be there, the police are watching and seeing what happens. it seems to be all of the protests when they move out of manhattan, into wall street district and into other parts of the city, the basic strategy of the police is trying to contain this thing. but here, they are surrounded by police barricades. the mayor and police chief made a decision it is better to let them stay here in this contained area than try to remove them from this park. so far, 25 days of protest here. there have been sporadic outbreaks of arrests, so things are under control. as you go across the country in other places, police are trying to do the same to see how it goes. it is unpredictable and growing dynamic. >> ron allen in the middle of it all in new york. thank you so much. joining us now, white house communications director dan

fiver. first of all, occupy wall street spreading around the country, clearly this is a protest against a lot of things, but also a protest against the economic policies of the last three years. >> what we're hearing from the protesters and wall street across the country in places like boston and iowa, the president if he travels the country, it is a frustration with the state of the economy, and also frustration that wall street has been with the cause of the financial crisis and most successful since then. that's why the president worked hard to pass wall street reform and why it is so frustrated and republicans are working so hard to repeal it. >> at the same time, a lot of anger is focused on the wall street bailout which the president supported even before he was in office which led to him predicting with the stimulus package and other things that he had done with healthcare that there would be improvement in the economic climate. people feel the unemployment

picture is bleak, if not hopeless. >> well, i think it is important to understand that the steps we took right before the president came in office with tarp were unpopular, we knew they would be unpopular but were necessary to stop us from depression. the economy isn't growing fast enough, but it is growing. we are not creating jobs fast enough, but we are creating them. in the quarter before he came in office, the economy shrunk 9%. clearly steps we took had an effect, but we have to do more. that's why the american jobs act is so important. >> dan, what happens if as predicted chuck schumer with all of that with chuck todd earlier, you have a talking point, but do you go for the fallback position breaking it into pieces? >> if the republicans block

passing that, the next step is to bring each individual piece forward and make them account for why they oppose provisions, why they oppose putting construction workers back on the job, rebuilding schools across the country, why they oppose putting teachers back to work, why they oppose tax cuts for small business and middle class families. >> will he sign the china currency bill? there's a plan to get it out of the house. if it comes to him, will he sign that? >> the president said he has concerns with some of the approaches he has taken, while he is sympathetic to problems we try to solve with the bill. he wants to work with congress to make sure what we do is effective and solves the problem. >> i take it as a no, he won't sign it as written. we'll have to see. thank you, dan. all on the line for rick perry tonight. will he be tan, rested and ready. the politico report next.

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game on for rick perry tonight, after a string of disastrous debate performances, perry is gearing up, tweeting this picture yesterday, showing him pumped and running outside the airport in lebanon, new hampshire. even a friend admitted to "the new york times" after three back to back debates, quote, we had a tired puppy. he had been pushed really hard. running for president is tough, isn't it? >> it is very tough. andrea, it is about the three cs for rick perry. have clean answers, show confidence, and show command of the issues, which are all about the economy. >> his son said last night at the republican dinner that he's not here this evening because he's resting up, you know. he was very focused on raising money and did a very good job at that. now the focus will be the debates and when he is focused, he can do anything.

he did a good job raising money with $17 million and having $15 million in the bank, so a very slow spend rate that he has a lot to stretch out towards the primaries, but boy, he's got to do a better job tonight. >> he's got to really prove, and prove the rhetoric. it is going to be interesting because he's going to be seated close to the candidates. it's always tougher to attack when you're next to them. we'll see how he handles that dynamic as well. >> and he is behind in polls, in new hampshire as well. seen a big surge for herman cain. thanks so much for joining us, david. and breaking news that we reported earlier this hour. new jersey governor chris christie is expected to endorse mitt romney today. ben webber with the romney campaign will be joining us next on andrea mitchell reports. a pl. highway maintenance is underfunded, costing drivers $67 billion a year,

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and breaking news that we've

been following. republican presidential frontrunner mitt romney has added the endorsement of new jersey powerhouse governor chris christie, a week after he officially declined to enter the race himself. ben webber is an adviser for the campaign. chris christie is appearing at 3:00 this afternoon, we'll carry it live, the endorsement in person there in new hampshire. what does he bring to mitt romney? >> first of all, we know he's a grass roots hero and brings grass roots excitement. more than anything, he's choosing to endorse governor romney on the day of a debate that is devoted solely to the economy. that's what the focus of tonight's debate is going to be in new hampshire. it underscores the basic message which is that this economy is in trouble and mitt romney is the person with the experience to turn it around. i think governor christie will emphasize and underscore that. and that's the central message of the romney campaign. >> at the same time, mitt romney, there are warning signs

and red flags for mitt romney in the nbc merits poll. among voters that are passionate about values, not competence -- >> i have been watching the reports. >> you've been watching the reports. how does he deal with that concern that people don't look to mitt romney in iowa and new hampshire, even in his own backyard for the passion on their valleys? >> we have a number of candidates, we have a wide field. shouldn't surprise any of them that all of them are getting a certain amount of support. i think the media has it a little off in focusing in the fact that other candidates spiked up and down and spiked up and down and not emphasizing the fact that one candidate, mitt romney, has been pretty stable and steady in a frontrunner status throughout most all of this race, with a couple minor periods of time. i think he shows considerable resiliency. when you get closer to voters having to make decisions in the

iowa caucus as opposed to straw polls and things like that, that questions of a program and confidence and electability and economic leadership will become stronger arguments in mitt romney's favor, not weaker. >> you think herman cain is just the latest, flavor of the month, flavor of the week? >> i have known him years. he is a great candidate. he made quite an impact on this race. >> could he be president of the united states? command erin chief? >> i think he could be president of the united states, but i think mitt romney is better qualified for the job. >> what do you think of this interview, reverend jeffress repeating his description of the mormon faith. this was hardball last night. >> i was able to find ways to use my skills in a public sector setting, and that's probably something. >> i'm not sure he's that much of a practicing mormon. i don't know if he were a devout mormon, i am not sure how he

could hold the views he did about abortion for so long. >> he has not only said that the mormon faith is a cult, but he is now going after mitt romney's practice and devotion to his own faith. >> first of all, i know mitt romney well enough, having been on his campaign four years ago to know that is just plain not true. he is a man of faith and takes his faith very seriously. beyond that, i want to say this is a really outrageous statement. i remember when john kennedy ran for president. many may have said the same then about my church. jeffress can say what he wants. governor perry needs to be stronger than he has been in saying he has no part of this. this is, after all, the guy he asked to introduce him. >> neither did michele bachmann when asked about it. none of the other republicans other than jon huntsman -- >> he has a higher obligation to distance himself from this comment that comes from one of his supporters. >> would it surprise you to

learn mike huckabee has written the forward to reverend jeffress's book that's coming out? >> i saw governor huckabee talk about the fact he knows reverend jeffress, but he was clear in distancing himself from the comments. >> he was ex-tolling the praises of this new book, the fact he was blunt and not politically correct in this book. >> i don't know anything about the book. i know his comments about religion and politics were beyond the pale, governor perry and for that matter other candidates should denounce those comments and make it clear that's not how we pick candidates in america based on religious affiliation. >> tonight's debate is all about the economy. one of the things bringing it home to everyone's living room if not backyard is occupy wall street and protests around the country. what is mitt romney's view of the spreading protests? >> i think -- i don't know, i

haven't discussed that exactly. i think all of us recognize the economy is really hurting badly. pessimism about the future of our economy is almost off the charts. i think until you turn the economy around, show growth in jobs and incomes, you will see people get more and more frustrated. it doesn't justify the tactics some are using and the methods some of them are taking is i did logically away from the romney campaign and republican party. but the frustration is leading people to go to the streets. the economy is really bad. >> vin weber, speaking for mitt romney as we head into the debate. breaking news out of washington. attorney general eric holder and fbi director robert mueller are having a joint press conference at 2:00 eastern to announce a significant national security enforcement action. we're still awaiting details.

we'll bring them to you when we get them. stay with us. in other headlines today topping the headlines, a scathing report from the united nations investigation accusing the afghan government are torturing suspects held in custody, including children. the 74 page report details brute will abuses, including electric shocks. accusation that is could complicate u.s. efforts to hand over security responsibility to afghanistan. the trial of accused underwear bomber is under way in detroit. he is accused of trying to blow up a detroit bound flight on christmas day two years ago and is representing himself, but he did decide to have a lawyer make his opening statement. he faces life in prison if convicted. in los angeles today, week three of the conrad murray trial. new details today from the doctor's police interview about how he told michael jackson's mother and his children that the

pop star had died. in parts of the recording played friday, dr. murray hinted jackson's death was caused by propofol, the powerful drug jackson was given in an effort to cure his insomnia. nba commissioner david stern is cancelling the first two weeks of the regular season after owners and players failed to resolve their labor disputes in seven hours of negotiations yesterday. no further meetings are scheduled. at least 100 games could be missed in the first two weeks, even if the rest of the season is somehow salvaged. and i am joined by democratic strategist michael feldman, political analyst and former chairman of the republican national committee, michael steele. michael, first to you. what's the impact of chris christie coming out for mitt romney on the day of the debate in new hampshire? >> i think it is a game changer. >> really? >> yeah. i think it sends a very strong signal to the rest of the field that things are going to be moving in this direction. you have the ground swell of the

christie excitement out there now being galvanized hopefully by the mitt romney team, so really puts pressure on tonight for folks to step up and to really kind of get in the face of this endorsement and say well, okay, you may have gone this way with christie and romney, but the reality is the fight still remains among grass roots activists that believe that cain, perry, bachmann or others are the stronger candidates. so it will be fun to watch in the face of everything else going on today. >> and at the same time, the president is upside down in polls in iowa and new hampshire, michael. for democrats, there are big warning signs. >> two states where he hasn't spent time in the campaign, just beginning, and where republican candidates have been campaigning weeks and months on end, attacking the president. you can see how the numbers would be lopsided now. want to get back to the christie endorsement. i agree with what michael said, it is a big deal for governor romney, but doesn't resolve the problem with activists in the

republican party. your poll that shows weakness in the grass roots activists, most likely intense voters in the republican primary still haven't found what they're looking for in this candidate. chris christie doesn't solve that problem. >> but he could help in the sense that if they are willing to ignore some of their positions, their joint positions on the social issues, while mitt romney has shifted quite a bit on some of the social questions since he was governor of massachusetts. at the same time, chris christie brings the passion and the straight talking blunt new jersey governor persona. >> sure. >> and money. >> i am not sure that helps governor romney. chris christie on one hand looks authentic, real, connects with voters, and governor romney who has yet to do that. on how it helps or doesn't help him, i'll quote reverend jeffress from the other night, he may have to hold his nose and vote for a guy like mitt romney. if republican activists have to hold their nose and vote for the

republican nominee, that's a problem for mitt romney if he is the nominee. >> you bring up reverend jeffress. why are the other candidates, particularly rick perry, cain and bachmann as well, even though as vin weber said they have less responsibility. why are they so reluctant -- >> they don't want to alienate or tweet that kind of support. but my attitude is look, what the reverend said i think is just outright stupid. it has no place in american politics today. and you know, we don't need to go down that road and waste our time living in your world of, you know, discrimination and racism. the fact of the matter is that's not a disqualifier for being president of the united states. so why is it part of the discussion at this point. we have gotten over those hurdles. for jeffress and others to bring it up, despite what some may feel about it, to me, it is out of place. and the fact there's been this sort of backing away from by

some of the other republican candidates to me is not a good moment. i think this is one you stand up very boldly and say if nothing else, it is the constitution that says religion should not be a bar for the office, for federal office. so this for me is a very disappointing moment and hopefully we get past it quickly. >> to what do you attribute the surge in herman cain? >> i think a couple of things. one is he kind of laid out a plan that people can sink their teeth into, agree or disagree, but something rather bold and innovative in terms of what people feel. >> bad news for mitt romney that people are so disenchanted with the frontrunner that they're giving herman cain a second look. >> i don't think they're so much disenchanted. i think a lot more hype has been placed on trying to create a frontrunner and keeping that person or sustaining that person than there needs to be. >> short term actually, i think this helps governor romney, this parade of alternatives that

rises in the polls and goes away, creates an easy approach for governor romney for the nomination. but long term is a real problem for him if there's that much dissatisfaction in the activist wing of the republican party. that's something he has to work on to be the republican nominee. >> he and the president have to work on that activist swing with respect to parties. it will be a real challenge for both of them going in. >> the passion gap. thank you very much. michael feldman, michael steele, no gap here. and president obama is about to make his jobs pitch in pittsburgh. you can see the live picture there. they are trying to avoid embarrassing him on the jobs bill vote. [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8.

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fresher less processed foods introducing freshpet recipes so fresh the only preservative we use is the fridge freshpet fresh food for fido hi, everyone. i'm tamron hall. coming up, in our an hour, chris christie will announce he is backing mitt romney for president. what this could mean for mitt

romney. and you may have seen these "the ed show" about the mormon faith. >> i am a silver medallist and a mormon. >> it is front and center of the 2012 campaign. i talk with one of the people behind the "i am mormon" campaign. and right now, abothey are taking their message of corporate agreed to the front door of rupert murdoch and the heads of some of the biggest banks. we will have a live report for you. more on that breaking news out of washington. according to court documents given to reuters news agency, the u.s. government charged two men with conspiracy to murder the saudi arabian ambassador to the united states. two men charged in the plot are originally from iran, one a naturalized u.s. citizen. according to a u.s. official, the plot included trying to attack embassies in washington.

attorney general eric holder and fbi director robert mueller will be having a press conference at 2:00 eastern to announce more about the charges. we will bring all of that to you live here. and the senate is voting tonight and expected to defeat the president's jobs plan. democratic leaders are turning to the fall back plan. luke russert joins us from capitol hill. a lot going on today. first of all, this vote tonight, we expect it around 6:00, 6:15 on the jobs plan. it basically goes down in defeat because well, they need 60, they can't get 60, may not even hold all their democrats. is that the latest head count? >> that's correct, andrea. the big news really on that vote is that they knew all along they wouldn't get the 60 votes for closure, which is a procedural method so the bill can be debated on the floor of the senate. what makes this vote very interesting is that there's a chance democrats might not even

get a simple majority of their own caucus to support the president's jobs bill, and that's something that a lot of democratic aides will tell you is embarrassing for the white house, if they can't get 51 democratic senators of the 53 to support it, then they lose that talking about of being able to say it was gop obstruction that put this bill down. had we been able to debate it on the floor, we could have passed it in the united states senate. looking at some senators, joe manchin, ben nelson from nebraska, senators representing red states that are not on board with the president's jobs plan because they are worried about being liable for attacks for being pro-stimulus, too much pro-government handouts. that is a big story in terms of how it would look to the outside

eye. >> what about the china currency bill, that's expected to pass. in an interview with dan pfeiffer earlier this hour, he indicated the president wasn't eager to sign that bill, in fact wasn't going to sign it in its current form if it gets through the house. >> absolutely. i watched that interview of him. i spoke with eric cantor about that bill, expected to pass the senate with wide bipartisan support. the question i posed to mr. cantor, there's over 157 signatures by republicans and democrats. if that could get to the 218 needed to bring it it the floor as john boehner said, he wants the people's housework its will, why not have the rank and file members walk to the floor. the answer being we don't know where the administration is. this could possibly be dangerous and start a trade war. really kind of being cautious. so this is a very interesting issue where eric cantor, john boehner and president obama are

all united together because of fear of what could happen with some sort of trade war with china, and also because they have significant special interest money given to them by folks that would be very much effected by this. >> indeed they do. we have this breaking news and a news conference jointly from the fbi and the attorney general on the alleged terror plot that has been broken up to iranian-born, one naturalized citizen born in iran. two suspects now under arrest. alleged attacks on the audi and israeli embassies here in washington. we'll be right back. drug plan. ♪ with the lowest national plan premium... ♪ ...and copays as low as one dollar... ♪ ...saving on medicare prescriptions is easy. ♪ so you're free to focus on the things that really matter.

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more on the breaking news and the terror plot that has been broken up by the u.s. by the attorney general and the fbi. we are expecting a news conference from them. joining me now on the phone is terror analyst evan coleman.

what do we know about this? these are supposed 3 two iranian-born suspects. >> they are not the usual suspects. very few are involved with al qaeda. there is a pretty strong foot between the shiites. it will be interesting to see whether or not and who is behind this. whether or not something is related with al questioned a. was this something else? we have two iranian nationals and brings up the prospect that it might be something more closely related to iran and tensions between the u.s. and saudi arabia and iran. we will have to wait for more details. >> evan, there has been historic breeches between iran and saudi arabia. that has certainly been a major issue and saudi arabia has been an ally in trying to pressure iran and making sure that iran does not develop nuclear

weapons. >> right. let's not forget that at least one major incident of terrorism, that being the towers bombing was linked or agents operating about the government of iran and not al qaeda. this is not unprecedented, but certainly if there is a plot that is tied back to iran targeting the saudi leader, that will raise tensions and brings forward a new terrorism threat that we haven't been looking at lately. >> indeed. thank you so much. that will be all sorted out. this is an allegationed plot that has to do with supposedly bomb squads against the saudi and israeli embassies and major figures as well. that does it for us for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." next on news nation on a very busy news day indeed. >> it is indeed. we will have more on the alleged terror plot and president obama will speak about jobs.

he is live in pittsburgh. you see the crowd there. in hour, chris christie will make a big announcement. he is endorsing mitt romney ahead of the republican debate and we are following breaking news in the search for that missing baby, baby lisa. new details. a new search site at this point and we have the information for you. "news nation" is minutes away. t wrinkle revolution... relaxes the look of wrinkles instantly, and the look of deep wrinkles in 14 days. ready, set, smooth... regenerist. from olay. [ female announcer ] starbucks via® is planted the same... ♪ ...harvested the same... ♪ ...and roasted the same as our other premium coffees. ♪ it only makes sense it would taste the same. so, try it for yourself. buy a pack of 100% natural starbucks via® ready brew. we promise you'll love it or we'll send you a bag of starbucks coffee.

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i'm tamron hall. the "news nation" is following breaking news. we are waiting on a very important news conference from the department of justice. eric holder. they learned that two iranian and one iranian-american have been indicted on charges that they plotted to kill a saudi diplomat, an ambassador to the united states. tristan lift evan coleman joins me now on the phone. we are getting in bits and pieces of this terror plot that was included